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ABU DHABI / WAM
Adolfo Urso, Italy’s Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, said his country is seeking to deepen economic and investment cooperation with the UAE, stressing the importance of concluding the free trade agreement between the European Union and the UAE and expanding cooperation in critical raw materials and recycling, robotics and artificial intelligence.
Speaking during a panel discussion at Investopia Bridge 2026 in Abu Dhabi, Urso said Italian companies operating in the UAE view the Emirati market as a promising environment for growth and continue to invest in the country.
He stressed the importance of diversifying markets and benefiting from free trade agreements, noting that concluding the EU-UAE free trade agreement would boost trade and investment flows and open broader prospects for economic cooperation.
Urso said Italy is looking to develop cooperation with the UAE in recycling and recovering critical raw materials. The limited availability of some of these materials, he said, has prompted Italian companies to develop advanced solutions to recycle them and maximise their use.
He also discussed prospects for cooperation in technology, saying Italy is looking to establish a joint venture with the UAE in advanced robotics, drawing on the extensive expertise of Italian companies in the sector. He said the project would focus on developing applications that combine robotics and artificial intelligence, including what he described as “physical AI”, and applying these technologies in production processes.
Urso said AI applications in industry, agriculture, healthcare and services will be among the key areas of focus in the next phase, adding that innovation and technological development are closely linked to economies’ ability to adapt to change and address challenges. He expressed hope that UAE-Italy cooperation in this field would be further strengthened.